HomePlug Powerline Alliance and Panasonic Submit a Merged Proposal to the IEEE P1901 Work Group for BPL.

Industry Leaders Come Together to Create a Unified Industry-Wide Powerline Technology Standard

SAN RAMON, Calif. -- The HomePlug Powerline Alliance today announced that HomePlug and Panasonic have merged their technical submissions to the IEEE P1901 Work Group for Broadband over Powerline (BPL) and have submitted a joint proposal. The merged submission offers the efficiency of a single MAC and the flexibility to support both the HD-PLC and HomePlug AV PHYs. As a result, future products based on the merged P1901 proposal can be fully interoperable with existing HomePlug AV and Panasonic HD-PLC products. The IEEE P1901 Work Group is defining an industry-wide powerline technology standard resulting from collaboration between these two powerline industry leaders. This now paves the way for the unification and rapid growth of the powerline communications industry.

Powerline communications is a technology that can potentially be shared by BPL devices of differing protocols. The full implementation of the future 1901 standard will provide interoperability among BPL devices, as well as seamlessly communicating with other networking protocols, such as 802.11.

"As the leader in powerline communications, the HomePlug Alliance fully supports the IEEE's efforts toward a consolidated marketplace for the benefit of manufacturers and ultimately the consumers," said Matthew Theall from Intel Corporation, who serves as the president of the HomePlug Powerline Alliance. "Working with a consumer electronics leader such as Panasonic is a natural choice for the Alliance. As a team we're looking forward to bringing an industry standard to powerline communications that continues to advance this powerful technology into the mainstream marketplace."

"While there are a variety of excellent powerline communications technologies available today, the commitment of the IEEE to create a globally-recognized standard for BPL networks is a huge step for this industry," said Mikio Mizutani, executive vice president of Panasonic Communications Co. Ltd. "For the IEEE P1901 standard to be successful, it is fundamentally important that the two powerline industry leaders cooperate and unite their efforts. We are convinced that this joint submission with the HomePlug Alliance represents a significant step forward toward the important goal of achieving a unified powerline standard."

The IEEE P1901 project is developing a communications standard for high-speed powerline devices. The standard will be usable by all classes of high-speed BPL products, including networking devices for the first-mile/last-mile connection to broadband services and consumer products providing in-home networking and multimedia distribution. The 1901 standard will ensure the delivery of maximum throughput with high levels of quality of service (QoS). The IEEE's process allows all Work Group member proposals for the 1901 standard to be considered. For the merged proposal, the HomePlug Alliance and its member companies agreed to team up with Panasonic to develop both In-home and Access proposals and to provide an integrated solution based on their combined efforts.

With more than 10 million products shipped and in use on six continents, and with over 75 member companies, the HomePlug Powerline Alliance has taken great strides in the powerline communications industry since its inception in 2000. Panasonic's HD-PLC technology has also been successful in the home networking market, and currently shares shelf space at major retailers.

HiSilicon Technologies Co., Ltd., a HomePlug member company, has also merged its contribution into this joint proposal. Other HomePlug member companies that contributed technologies to the proposal include Arkados, Inc.; Conexant Systems; EarthLink; Gigle Semiconductor; Intel Corporation; Intellon Corporation; MainNet Communications Ltd.; Motorola; RadioShack Corporation; Sharp Laboratories of America; and SPiDCOM Technologies S.A.

The IEEE P1901 Work Group is expected to approve a proposal later this year. For more information on the IEEE P1901 standard, please visit http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/1901/.

About the HomePlug[R] Powerline Alliance:

The HomePlug Powerline Alliance, Inc. is an industry-led initiative established to create specifications for home high-speed powerline networking products and command & control among platforms within the home, and broadband access services to the home. The Alliance accelerates demand for HomePlug-enabled products and services worldwide through the sponsorship of market and user education programs. Membership in the Alliance has grown to include more than 75 industry-leading companies. HomePlug Sponsor companies include Cisco (CSCO); Comcast (CMCSK); GE Security, Inc., an affiliate of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE); Intel Corporation; LG Electronics (Korea Stock Exchange: 6657.KS); Motorola (MOT); RadioShack Corporation (RSH); Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (SSNGY.PK); Sharp Laboratories of America; TCL Group Holding Co., Ltd. (TCL Group); and Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE:TXN) (TI). Contributor members include Arkados (OTCBB: AKDS); Conexant (CNXT); Corporate Systems Engineering; Gigle Semiconductor; Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.; Intellon Corporation; and SPiDCOM Technologies. Additional information about the Alliance, including a complete listing of certified products, is available at http://www.homeplug.org.

HomePlug is a registered trademark of the HomePlug Powerline Alliance, Inc. Panasonic is a trademark of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. All other trademarks, trade names and service marks mentioned and/or used belong to their respective owners.